With the election just 54 days away, the justices did not say when they will decide -- but lawyers in the case expect them to rule before the end of September.

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In Pittsburgh, a group of people gathered at the Allegheny County Courthouse late Thursday afternoon and called for the voter ID law to be overturned. The protesters walked to the voter registration office on Ross Street to hand-deliver their petition.

“I think it’s just a way of keeping Democratic voters away from the polls. I mean, when this thing went through the legislature, there wasn't a Democrat that supported it. It's just a purely Republican thing,” said Bill Ebner, of Forest Hills.

“They are trying to throw this election, just like they did in Florida in 2000. To me, if we lose this fight, then we really are losing what little we have left of our democracy, and the money people will just come and buy every politician there is,” said Rosemary Prostko, of Bethel Park.

The six Supreme Court justices -- three Republicans and three Democrats -- saved their most aggressive questions at Philadelphia City Hall for lawyers representing the state and Gov. Tom Corbett, who signed the law.

Justice Thomas Saylor, a Republican, questioned the state's lawyers about whether the law actually requires the state to ensure that every registered voter be able to vote, even those who cannot get a valid ID.

Justice Debra Todd, a Democrat, flatly suggested the law is unconstitutional.

Justice Seamus McCaffrey, a Democrat, pushed the state's lawyers to explain the Republican rationale used to pass the law and whether the Legislature deserves deference for its decision to pass a politically divisive law that "is now going to trample the rights of our citizens."

In the opening statement by a lawyer for the plaintiffs, justices asked whether it would be acceptable for the photo identification requirement to be phased in over a longer period of time - say, a period covering two federal elections.

The lawyer, David Gersch, replied that it would, as long as the law guarantees the right to vote to each registered voter, even someone who cannot get a photo ID that is among several types that are valid under the law. Other states, such as Georgia and Michigan, have made such guarantees in their laws, Gersch said.

But under Pennsylvania's law, "there's too little time, there's too many people affected and there's no place in the statute that guarantees that qualified electors can get the ID they need to vote," Gersch told the justices.

Lawyers for the state argued that the justices should defer to the Legislature's decision on a policy matter and to the lower court judge's decision not to halt the law.